No. 41

Pick by Buffalo Rumblings Martellus Bennett Tight End Texas A&M

After choosing Oklahoma WR Malcolm Kelly in the first round (oops!), the Buffalo Bills have selected Texas A&M tight end Martellus Bennett in the second round.  Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings is here to tell us all why Bennett is a great second-round pick for his Bills:

  One of Buffalo's main goals heading into this draft has to be finding size, athleticism and physicality at the receiving skill positions.  The Bills are switching to a form of the West Coast offense under Turk Schonert, but their offensive identity will remain a power running, ball-control offense behind QB Trent Edwards and RB Marshawn Lynch.  Bennett fits that mold perfectly.

The Bills haven't had a receiving threat at tight end since the days of Jay Riemersma (and if you don't remember him, we'll go with Pete Metzelaars).  Bennett comes from a predominantly run-oriented Texas A&M offense, but his skills as a receiver can't be underestimated, even if they were underutilized in college.  He's got elite size (6'6", 259) and very solid speed (4.68 in the 40), and his background as a basketball player makes him difficult to cover, as he understands body positioning and has the athleticism to make outstanding catches.  Add in his already refined run blocking, and Bennett may be the most complete tight end prospect in this year's draft.  He'd be an immediate starter in Buffalo.  Oh, and Bennett is also a long-time friend of injured Bills tight end Kevin Everett, so he's already familiar with the Bills franchise to an extent as well.  He's a natural fit here.

We considered a cornerback at this point, and had our fingers crossed that Brandon Flowers would fall to us, but that wasn't meant to be.  Auburn's Patrick Lee and Iowa's Charles Godfrey do not provide much value this high in the draft, either.  There are some value selections at linebacker and along the offensive line, but Bennett's value far outweighs those selections.  This selection was rather easy to make, and once again, the vast majority of the Buffalo Rumblings audience agrees.
 
Matt Miller, host of this site as well as owner of New Era Scouting, provides his analysis below:

  Looking at the Buffalo offense is scary on paper. Trent Edwards looks like the real deal, and you'll find I was high on him coming out of Stanford. Marshawn Lynch, Malcolm Kelly and now Martellus Bennett give Buffalo a lot of talent, speed and size to team with Lee Evans. Oh, they also have Jason Peters and Derrick Dockery forming a dominant left side. Bennett is going to be a red-zone freak. How do you cover him? He's also a very good blocker, coming from a run based offense at Texas A&M. Damn good pick. Watch out, New England.

Grade: A+  ::  Martellus Bennett Scouting Report - New Era Scouting :: Matt Miller's Top Five Prospects Remaining: 1.  LB Shawn Crable, 2.  RB Jamaal Charles, 3.  WR Earl Bennett, 4.  TE Fred Davis, 5. QB Chad Henne

That's all she wrote for today's picks.  We'll be right back early tomorrow morning (10AM Eastern, to be exact) with the pick from Mile High Report, whose Denver Broncos are now on the clock.